Measuring and filling mechanism



Feb. 25, 1936. L, E SPEAR 2,031,912

MEASURING AND FILLING MECHANISM Filed Oct. l0, 1934 2 ShSeS-Sheet l Feb.25, 1936.

L. E. SPEAR MEASURING AND FILLING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct.l0, 1934 l/ 1| lily f77-ive o 74 xm/155W- f JRE/lf2 ful] MP1 TTOZNE Ys's @La vPatented Feb. 25, 1936 liIEASURING AND FILLING MECHANISM LambertEdwin Spear, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Blue Moon Cheese Products,IInc.- Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Originalapplication `December 8, 1930, Serial No.

500,823. Divided a'nd this application October 10, 1934, Serial No.747,756

9 claims. (Cl. 221-2-103) 'Ihis invention relates to an improvedmechanism for filling containers with measured quantities of material,and is a division of my pending application, Serial Number 500,823, ledDecember 8, 1930.

An object of the invention is to provide a measuring and fillingmechanism capable ofl successively filling a plurality of containerswith a suitable material, and whereby each container 10 will receivesubstantially the same amount of material.

A further object is to provide a machine of the character described,comprising a hopper provided with a discharge opening, and having acylindrical member mounted for relative movement therein, and a pistonbeing movably supported in said cylindrical member and provided withmeans for preventing the formation of a 'vacuum in the feed tube ordischarge opening,

- thereby to prevent air pockets from forming in the material before ityis delivered into the container.

A further object is to provide a mechanism for delivering apredetermined quantity of material into each container, and having meanswhereby the quantity of material delivered into each container may bevaried, if desired.

' Other objects reside in the specific construction of the measuringmechanism, whereby a measured quantity of the material is delivered intoeach container substantially without variation; in the means providedfor preventing the formation of a vacuum in the feed tube and wherebyair pockets cannot form in the material :l5-'delivered into thecontainers; and, in the provision of a measuring mechanism which mayreadily be adjusted to vary the amount of material delivered into thecontainers, whereby the mecha- 'nism may be adjusted to adapt it forpackaging 40 different kinds of materials, which may be put up indifferent sized containers, and the mechanism be so constructed thateachcontainer may be filled with exactly the same amount of material.

A further object is to provide a measuring and 'iilling mechanism,particularly well suited for filling small containers or cartons withcheese,

while in substantially a semi-iiuid state, although it is to beunderstood that it may be used for packaging various other materials.-

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in theannexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structuredesigned-to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is not confined to the exact featuresshown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimswhich follow. 5

In the drawings:

Figure Lis a vertical sectional view of the mechanism, showing thepiston at the bottom of its stroke;

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view, showing the 10 piston at the upperend of its stroke;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure l, showingthe means provided at 15 the bottom of the filling tube for retainingthe material therein, when a filled container is removed fromtherebeneath and an empty container substituted therefor.

The novel measuring and filling mechanism, 20 herein disclosed, is showncomprising a hopper 1I supported upon a ller tube 12having an outwardlyflared head 13 provided with a seat 14, in which the lower end of thehopper 1I is mounted and suitably secured. The filler tube 12 25 isshown supported in split brackets 15 and 16, each provided with a thumbscrew 11, whereby the tube 12 may be secured in position in saidbrackets. 'I'he brackets may be supported upon a housing 18 suitablysecured to a post 19 80 charging therefrom, when removing a filledcontainer from therebeneath and inserting an empty container in positionto receive a charge. Such means is shown comprising a rotary disk valve82, supported upon the lower end of a shaft 84, 40 mounted in suitablebearings provided in the housing 18. The valve 82 has a portion cutaway, as indicated at 83 in Figure 4, which cutaway portion is inregistration with the opening in the filler tube, when a charge is beingdelivered into 45 a container. When the valve 82 is in the positionshown in Figures 1 and 4, the lower end of the filler tube will beclosed to the ow of material therefrom.

The upper end of the shaft 84 is shown extend- 60 ing above the top Wallof the housing 18 and has a suitable compression spring 85 coiledthereabout, one end of which engages the housing 18 and the oppositeend, a washer 86, secured to the end of the shaft 84 by a suitable boltor nut 81. 65

` This spring constantly exerts an upward pressure on the shaft 84, tothereby hold the disk valve 82 in contact with the lowerend of thefiller tube 12. 'Ihe shaft 84 may be driven from an 9| is mounted insuitable bearings, not shown,

and may -be driven from a suitable source of power, such as lan electricmotor, not shown in the'drawings.

'I'he means for feeding the material downwardly through the'feed tube 12and measuring each charge delivered into the containers, is shown indetail in Figures 1 and 2, and consists of a vertically disposedcylinder 93, which is open at each 'end and mounted for limited verticalmovement within the hopper 1 I. The lower portion of the cylinder 93 issupported in suitable guides 94, shown integrally formed with the head13 of the filling tube. The upper end of the cylinder is supported in aguide ring 95 mounted upon studs 96, shown secured to the cylinderguides 94. A projection 91 is shown provided lupon the periphery of thecylinder 93, the upper shown in its normal position in engagement -withthe seat 98.

The means for actuating the cylinder -93 and feeding the materialdownwardly through the ller tube 12 is shown consisting of a piston 99mounted for reciprocal movement within the cylinder 93, and providedwith suitable piston rings adapted to seal the joint between theperiphery of the piston and the bore of thev cylinder 93.

. The piston 99 is actuated by a piston rod 02, shown provided at itslower end with a suitable head |03, preferably spherical in shape, andsituated within a chamber |01 in the piston. The

i head |03 is adapted to engage a valve seat |05 in the pistoncomprising three parts, exclusive ofv the rings |0|, namely, an uppersection |09, an intermediate section I, and a lower section i I2,connected together by suitable threads,.as clearly illustrated inFigures l and 2. The intermediate 'section is provided with annularrecesses ||3 adapted to receive the piston rings |0 I.

Means are provided whereby the cylinder 93 may readily be removed fromits guides for cleaning, when necessary. Such means is best shown inFigures 1 and 2, and comprises a small clip 4 having its innerv endportion I5 bent downwardly and received in a notch I6 provided in theguide ring 95. The clip ||4 has a slot I |1 therein adapted to receive ascrew ||8 by means of which it may be secured to the guide ring 95.

`Tov remove the cylinder 93 from its guides, the

screw ||8 is loosened, whereby the clip ||4 may j v be moved to thedotted line position, indicated in ery 93 may pass upwardly through thenotch ||8 y in the guide ring 95, and thus permit the cylinder to beremoved from the hopper. Before removing the cylinder 93 from. itsguides, however, the piston rod |02 is disconnected from a rocher armH9, shown supported upon the upper portion of the hopper by means of abracket 2|. moving the pin |22, which connects the upper end of thepiston rod |02 to the rocker arm ||9,

the piston and cylindermay be removed, as a lunit, from the hopper.

Means is provided for operating the rocker arm |I9 and may consist of aconnecting rod |23 having its upper end connected to one end of therocker arm 9 vand its lower end adjustably connected to an operating arm|24 by means of a slidably mountedV block |25 andan adjusting screw |26.The block |25 is shown movably supported in a slot |21 provided in thevarm |24. 'I'he opposite end of the arm |24 is pivotally connected to thehousing 18 by means of a pin |28. A short pitman |29 has one end.pivotally connected to the arm |24 and its opposite end to an.

eccentric |3| ,secured to the drive shaft 9|.

In the operation of the novel measuring and filling mechanism hereindisclosed, the material to be packaged, which preferably is in asemiliquid state, is delivered into the hopper 1| from a suitablesource, whereby the measuring mechanism, comprising the cylinder 93 andpiston 99 may be submerged 'in the material, as illustrated in Figure 2.When the apparatus is at rest, the piston 99 and cylinder 93 are in thepositions shown in Figure 1, whereby the material is re- By retained inthe hopper because of the cylinder 93 being engaged with the seat 98.When a container is positioned beneath the lower end of the `ller tube,as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1,'the operator will cause thedrive shaft 9| to rotate, whereby the rocker arm ||9 is actuated to liftthe piston upwardly to a position within the upper end of the cylinder93. The initial upward movement of the piston will cause the cylinder tomove upwardly, and out of engagement with the seat 98, as shown inFigure 2.

When the connecting rod |02 is initially opspherical valve element |03at the lower end thereof moves out of engagement with the seat |05 andinto engagement with the seat |04 without imparting any upward movementto the piston 99. As soon as the valve element |03 engages the seat |04,the piston will move upwardly simultaneously with the connecting rod,and because of the piston rings 3 thereof frictionally engaging thewalls of the bore of the cylinder 93, the latter will also move upwardlyuntil the shoulder 91 of the cylinder engages the guide ring 95, asshown in Figure 2, whereupon the cylinder will come to rest. The piston,however, will continue upwardly until the connecting rod has completedits full upward stroke.

Such upward movement of the piston within the cylinder will cause aportion of the material in the hopper to be drawn into the cylinderbeneath the lower edge thereof, becauseof the lower end of the cylinderbeing spaced from the seat 98, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. Atthe same time, a small quantity of material will pass downwardly throughthe ducts |08 at the upper portion of the piston, and into the pistonchamber |01, from which it passes through the duct lil) lower end of,the cylinder, as will readily be underetood by reference ,to Figure 2.wherein the arrows indicate the flow of the material into the lower endof the cylinder, when the piston moves upwardly.

Upon the initial downward movement of the piston, the valve head |03moves out of engage- 'ment with the valve seat |04 and into engagementwith the seat |05 whereby the port |06 is closed to the passage. ofmaterial therethrough. The piston then moves downwardly with theoperating rod |02, and carries with it, the cylinder 93. until thelatter engages the seat 95 and co'mes to rest. 'I'he material drawn intothe lower end of the cylinder by the suction of the piston,

during its upward movement, is then forced downwardly into the fillertube in a measured quantlty. It is also to be understood, that duringthe downward movement of the piston, as above described, the disk valve82 at the bottom of the filler tube will be actuted so that when thepiston commences its downward movement, the cutaway portion 82 of thedisk valve 83 will register with the discharge end of the illler tube tothereby prevent the material to discharge therefrom.

'I'he ducts |08 connecting the upper portion of the cylinder 93 with thepiston chamber |01 cooperate with the duct |08 and valve head |03 toprevent the formation of a vacuum in the lower portion of the cylinderand upper end oi' the filler tube during the upward movement of thepiston. The formation of a vacuum is avoided because of the valve head|03 at the lower end of the piston rod |02 moving out of engagement withits seat |05, when the piston commences its upward movement, wherebysome of the material in the upper portion of the cylinder 93 will flowdownwardly through the ducts |08, chamber |01, and through the duct |06into the lower portion of the cylinder, thereby positivelypreventing theformation of a vacuum in the filler tube, with the result that thematerial in said tube will be free from air bubbles and air pockets. Bythus permitting a portion of the material to flow downwardly through thepiston during the up stroke thereof, less energy is required to lift thepiston and cylinder.

The quantity of material discharged from the filler tube 12 for eachcycle of operation may be varied by manipulation of the adjusting screw|26, which. it will be noted by reference to Figure 1, has a knurledhead |32 whereby it may be conveniently rotated. Adjwtment of this screwwill cause the block |25 to be relatively moved in the slot |21, wherebythe stroke of the piston may be accurately adjusted to cause apredetermined measured quantity of material to be discharged from thehopper 1|- for each stroke thereof.

The structure is very simple and inexpensive in construction and hasbeen found very eiilcient in operation, in that it will accurately filleach container with substantially the same amount of material andsubstantially without variation. By

'means of the ducts |06 and |08 in the piston and cartons or containersis an important factor. In some instances, it may be desirable toeliminate the long dispensing or filler 4tube 12, shown in Figure 1, andsimply provide the hopper with a discharge opening from which thematerial may be delivered directly into the container or receptacle. Thedriving means for the piston may also befvaried in numerous ways withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention;

I claim as my invention:

l. In an apparatus for delivering measured quantities of material in tocontainers, a hopper having a discharge opening, a cylinder mounted forlimited vertical movement in said hopper and open to receive material atboth ends, a seat in the bottom of the hopper normally engaged by saidcylinder, a piston movably mounted in said cylinder and adapted, uponits up stroke, to first unseat the cylinder, after which the piston willrelatively move therein and draw a portion oi the material in the hopperinto said cylinder below 4the piston, means whereby when the piston ismoved downwardly, the cylinder is moved into engagement with said seatand the material in the lower portion thereof discharged therefromthrough said discharge opening in a. measured quantity, and means forpreventing the forma. tion of a vacuum in the cylinder.

2. In an apparatus for delivering measured quantities of material intocontainers, a hopper having a discharge opening, a seat in the hopper, acylinder normally having one end engaging said seat, a piston in thecylinder, an operating member connected to said piston and adapted tooperate thelatter and said cylinder, a stop for limiting movement of thecylinder, movement of the piston in one direction unseating the cylinderand causing a portion of the material in the hopper to be drawn into thelower end thereof. and movement of the piston in the opposite direction,causing the material in the cylinder below the piston to be ejectedtherefrom through said discharge opening, in a measured quantity, andvalve means for preventing the formation of a vacuum below the cylinderduring its up stroke.

3. In an apparatus for delivering measured vquantities of material intocontainers, a hopper having a discharge opening, a seat in the hopper, acylinder normally having one end engaging said. seat, a. piston in thecylinder, an operating member connected to said piston and adapted tooperate the latter and said cylinder, movement y of the piston in onedirection, unseating the cylinder and causing a portion of the materialin the hopper to be drawn into the lower end thereof, and movement ofthe piston in the opposite direction, causing the material in thecylinder be# low the piston to be ejected therefrom through saiddischarge opening in a measured quantity, and valve means in the pistonfor preventing the formation of a vacuum in the lower portion of thecylinder.

4. In an apparatus for delivering measured quantities of material intocontainers, a hopper having a discharge opening at its lower endsurrounded by an annular seat, a cylinder mounted for vertical movementin said hopper and having one end normally engaging said seat, a pistonmounted for reciprocal movement in the cylinder and frictionallyengaging the same, whereby when the piston is moved upwardly, thecylinder is unseated from said annular seat to thereby permit the pistonto draw a portion of the material in the hopper, into the lower end ofthe cylinder, and the connection between the periphery can or the pistnand the bore of me cynnder being such that upon initial downwardmovement of the piston, the-cylinder will move into sealing.

tion of the material in the cylinder above the.

piston may pass through the piston and into the lower portion of thecylinder, during the up stroke of the piston. .f

5. In an apparatus for delivering measured quantities of material intocontainers, a hopper having a discharge opening at its bottom surroundedby an annular seat, a cylinder. mounted in the hopper and adapted forrelative vertical movement therein, the lower end of saidicylindernormally engaging said seat, a piston in the cylinder, valve means insaid piston for establishing circulation therethrough, and a connectingrod for operating said piston, said connecting rod having a limitedmovement with respect to the piston to thereby operate said valve/means,and whereby when the piston is moved upwardly, a portion of the materialin the hopper may pass through the valve means on the piston and intothe lower portion of the cylinder, and whenl said piston is moveddownwardly, said valve means is actuated to interrupt liquid flowthrough the piston, whereby all of ythe material drawn into the lowerend of the cylinder may be discharged therefrom through said dischargeopening in a measured quantity.

6. In an apparatus forbdelivering measured quantities of material intocontainers, a hopper having a discharge opening at its bottom, anannularseat in the hopper, a cylinder normally engaged with said seatand adapted for limited vertical movement within thev hopper, a. pistonmounted for vertical movement within the cylinder, valve means in thepiston, an operating member connected to said piston for impartingreciprocal movement thereto, and adapted upon.

movement in one direction, to open said valve means and thereby permit aportion of the material above the piston to flow therethrough and intothe lower end of the cylinder, and when said operating member is movedin the opposite direction, said valve means is closed before the pistoncommences its downward movement, whereby the material in the lowerportion of the cylinhaving its lower end engaged with a seat, a

piston mounted for relative .movement within said cylindrical member andhaving a passage therethrough, a rod for actuating the piston, movementof the piston in one direction, causing the cylindrical member to bemoved out of ensagement with its seat, whereby material may be drawn-into the lower end of said member from the hopper, and movement of thepiston in the v opposite direction causing the cylindrical member toengage its seat, wherebyv the material 'quantities of material intocontainers, a-hopper having a feed tube adapted to deliver the materialinto the containers from the hopper, a cylinder movably mounted in thehopper and communicating with the feed tube and normally having itslower end engaged with a seat provided in the hopper, a piston mountedfor relative movement within the cylinder, movement of .said piston inone direction causing the cylinder to be moved out of engagement withits seat,

whereby material is drawn into the lower end thereof, and movement ofthe piston in the opposite direction causing said cylinder to engage itsseat, whereby the material drawn into the cylinder will be forced intothe feed tube, and means for preventing the formation of a vacuum withinthe cylinder and feed tube, during the suction stroke of the piston.

9. In an apparatus for delivering measured quantities of material intocontainers, a hopper having a feed tube adapted to deliver the materialinto the containers, a cylinder movably mounted within the hopper, openat each end, and communicating at its lower end with the feed tube andnormally having its lower edge engaged with a seat in the hopper, apiston mounted for relative movement within the cylinder, an operatingmember for the piston, and a valved duct in said piston controlled byrelative movement of said operating member, and whereby aportion of thematerial above the piston may flow therethrough into the lower portionof the cylinder, when the piston is moved upwardly, such upward movementof the piston also effecting unseating of the cylinder, whereby materialis drawn into the lower end thereof from said hopper, and movement ofsaid operating member in the opposite direction causing said valved ductto close before the piston is actuated, after which the connectionbetween Athe piston and cylinder will cause the` latter to move intoengagement with its seat, whereby continued movement of the piston willforce the material drawn into the lower portion of the cylinder into thefeed tube in a measured quantity.

LAMBERT EDWIN SPEAR.

